


The King's New Wardrobe

by tehfanglyfish



Series: Merthur Week 2020 [6]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Pendragon is a Hopeless Romantic, Canon Era, Developing Relationship, Deviates From Canon, Emotionally Constipated Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Fluff, M/M, Merthur Week 2020, is Trying His Best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:47:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28341144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tehfanglyfish/pseuds/tehfanglyfish
Summary: In which Arthur acquires new furniture, Merlin is confused, and Gwaine is supportive in his own way.Or... gift-giving gone wrong gone right.Written for Merthur Week 2020 Day 6: “Can I uncover my eyes yet?” “No stop being impatient" + Humour
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Merthur Week 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2068728
Comments: 28
Kudos: 168
Collections: Merthur Week 2020





	The King's New Wardrobe

**Author's Note:**

> And it's Day 6, which means there's only one more day left in this absolutely amazing fest. The mods are absolute rock stars for organizing this! I will be sad when it's over. Actually, no I won't. Because I will finally have time to see what everyone else created!
> 
> As always, not my characters, not my franchise, I have earned a grand total of zero monies from this endeavor. Do not repost, please and thank you.

“Ow!”

“Sorry. Is your elbow ok?”

“Yeah, just give me a warning before we go through any more doorways.”

Despite the ache still radiating from his elbow, Merlin let Arthur lead him onward. He was pretty sure they were getting close to the royal residence wing. Blindfold or not, Merlin had spent enough years running through the castle to have the floorplan memorized.

“Oi! Princess. Stop right there,” called a teasing voice. “You’ve hurt Merlin. Kiss it and make it better.”

“Shut up, Gwaine,” said Arthur.

“Don’t tell me you’re embarrassed to kiss him in public,” Gwaine shot back. “We all know what you two were getting up to last night. Pretty sure everyone within the five kingdoms knows the way you kept calling Merlin’s name.”

For the first time since Arthur had placed the cloth over his eyes, Merlin felt relieved to be wearing the blindfold. Normally he remembered his silencing spells, but last night Arthur had caught him off guard, pouring out declarations of love rather than his usual proclamations of lust. It was one thing to know Arthur desired him, quite another to know he loved him.

“What’s with the blindfold, anyway?” Gwaine asked. “Is this some kind of roleplay? The king rescues the damsel, then takes his reward?”

Merlin knew Gwaine’s teasing was good-natured, but he could also hear the change in Arthur’s breathing, giving away both embarrassment and rising anger.

“If you don’t shut up, I will hex you bald,” Merlin threatened.

“Fine, fine. Go on about your business. But remember that some of us have actual jobs to do and need our sleep. Try to keep it down tonight.”

Arthur dragged Merlin on down the corridor, his skin now burning where he clutched Merlin’s hand.

“I’m sorry about that,” Arthur murmured.

“He’s just playing – he doesn’t mean any harm by it.”

“I know, but I don’t want you to think that I’m… what I mean is, I meant what I said last night.”

“As did I. Stop worrying about Gwaine. He’s only teasing because he’s happy for us. Now lead on to this… whatever it is you want me to see.”

There was the soft press of Arthur’s lips against his, then Merlin found himself again being pulled along toward their destination. The familiar sound of the lock turning and the squeaky hinges Merlin forgot to magic silent confirmed what he’d suspected – they were now in Arthur’s chambers.

“Can I uncover my eyes yet?”

It didn’t really matter. At this point, he knew Arthur’s rooms better than his own mother’s house. And her house wasn’t even as spacious.

“No,” Arthur said, still holding Merlin’s hand. “Stop being impatient."

They made their way around the dining table, past the hearth, and beyond the bed, Arthur finally stopping where his wardrobe should be.

“I, um, I wanted to show you something,” Arthur explained, positioning himself behind Merlin. “It’s meant to be a surprise. I hope you’ll think it’s a good surprise, but before I let you see it, I need you to promise me something.”

Merlin waited, but Arthur said nothing, instead taking deep breaths as if to steady himself.

“You know there’s nothing you can’t ask me,” Merlin said softly, leaning back to bump his shoulder against Arthur’s chest. “Just tell me.”

“If…” Arthur swallowed hard, “if it’s not welcome, or if you think it’s too much or too soon, tell me. I know you’re one for noble self-sacrifice, but we vowed no more secrets and this is far too important for you to fall on your sword. Or whatever a sorcerer’s equivalent is. You’re pretty useless with a sword. You probably couldn’t fall on one if you were actually trying. Which isn’t to say that…”

“Arthur,” Merlin said, interrupting the nervous rambling, “I swear I’ll tell you the truth. Now can you please take off the blindfold?”

Trembling fingers struggled with the knot, but after a moment’s fumbling, Arthur had it undone.

“Well,” he said, pulling away the fabric, “what do you think?”

Merlin had expected… actually, he wasn’t quite sure of what he’d expected after Arthur’s speech. But it definitely wasn’t this.

“You got a second wardrobe,” Merlin finally said. Arthur had never been one to waste money like his father on frivolous purchases, but acquiring new furniture wasn’t that out of the ordinary.

“And?”

“It’s very nice? I like the dragon carvings along the top. They’re very detailed. It’s quite beautiful, actually.”

That wasn’t a lie. Having come from a very modest background, Merlin wasn’t one overly preoccupied with furniture beyond its practical purposes, but he had to admit that whoever had done the decorative work on the wardrobe must have been a master artisan. 

“Good,” Arthur said, obvious relief in his voice. “And you don’t think I’m moving too fast?”

“Well… seeing as to how you’ve had the one since I first met you, and presumably it’s the only one you’ve had your entire life… I’d say getting a second one at thirty-four isn’t moving that fast. Maybe when you’re sixty-eight you can…”

“ _Mer_ lin! You said you’d be honest.”

“And I am. Your new wardrobe looks nice, doesn’t take up too much space, and, um, complements your other one,” Merlin said, not quite sure why Arthur had grown frustrated. “I’m very happy you have new furniture. Though why you decided I needed to be blindfolded to see it…”

“Merlin, I… Oh! I forgot. Look inside. That will make everything clear.”

Resisting the urge to scan Arthur for enchantments or head injuries, Merlin did as he was told, reaching for the polished handles to pull open the wardrobe doors.

“It’s empty,” he said, even more confused than before.

“Right,” Arthur said, “it’s empty now. But. It doesn’t have to be. If you don’t want it to be.”

“You want my permission to store your clothes in it? You do remember that you’re the king, right?”

“That’s not what… why are you making this so difficult?”

“ _I’m_ making it difficult? You’re the one acting like…”

“Stop stalling, Merlin. Do you want to move in with me or not?”

“Do I… what?”

“Want to move in with me? Here. In my chambers. To stay.”

“You want me to… live with you?”

“Yes, Merlin. Why else would I have gotten a new wardrobe?”

“Because kings own a lot of clothes?”

Arthur sighed. “No, idiot. It’s for _your_ clothes. That’s why there are dragons carved in the wood. Because it’s a gift for you. You’ve been staying with me so often here lately that it just made sense. Plus… I meant what I said last night about my feelings for you. This is just me... rearranging the furniture of my heart to invite you in.”

Merlin tried to speak, but couldn’t, his mind too busy processing Arthur’s words to remember how to move his mouth.

“Though if you'd rather keep things as they are,” Arthur continued, “at least let me move you somewhere larger. You can still keep the wardrobe – it was designed for you alone. But, you’re in your thirties, Merlin. That’s far too old to be living in Gaius’s storeroom, especially now that he has that Alice woman coming around. I’m sure you…”

“You really want me to move in with you?”

“Yes. If it would make you happy.”

“I can be packed in thirty minutes, half that if you help.”

Then Arthur looked at him with such tenderness that Merlin had no choice but to kiss him. If kissing led to something more, well, that was alright, too. Arthur had plenty of spare clothes for Merlin to wear the next day.

Not that he would need them. When they stepped out the next morning, they found Merlin’s things carefully stacked in the corridor, with a note from Gwaine congratulating them on their new arrangement, strategically positioned on an open page of the grimoire that detailed numerous silencing spells.


End file.
